Rapid Reaction IU vs Nebraska

[mdn82 25,510]

Well, I don't think I have been this disappointed since Syracuse last year.  For everything that went right in the 1st half, the 2nd half went equally wrong.  We were completely shell shocked, and we never adjusted.  Tom Crean was out coached in the 2nd half.  In the most key moments in the 2nd half where Nebraska took the game over for good we had Devin Davis, Hanner Perea, and Evan Gordon on the court.  I honestly felt bad for them.  It wasn't their fault they were put in that situation.  We needed stability with a hot crowd that just witnessed their team coming back from 16.  We take Stan, Troy, and Noah out. 

 

As a team we gave them 19 points off of turnovers.  We shot 3 after 3 when we haven't hit 3s all season.  We gave up 41 points in the 2nd half after giving up 19 in the 1st half.  We did win the rebounding battle by a healthy margin.  We shot better than them at just over 45%.  We also turned the ball over 19 times.  Unfortunately, those TO and fouls in the 2nd half, along with some questionable stretches cost us the game.  

 

Individually, we witnessed the disappearing act of Noah Vonleh.  7 points and 3 rebounds, with 5 turnovers.  It was just a bad game for the big fella.  We need for him to be better come Sunday.  If not, we will lose by 20.  Yogi had a solid 14 points, with 3 boards, and 5 assists.  He also only had 1 turnover for the game.  Stan was also very solid with 12 points and 2 steals.  It almost feels like every game since conference has started he was the 2nd best player on the court, and sometimes the best.  That kid is going to be really good.  Will wasn't efficient, but ended up with 12.  

 

Ultimately, this is was a bad blow for a shot at the tournament.  There was hope before, but it was cut down exponentially after that game.  You have to have wins on the road to make the tournament.  We have 1.  We need more than that, and they aren't getting any easier.  Every team is tough at home, but we were up 16.  We came out flat in the 2nd half, and had our butts handed to us.  It is a disappointing loss for a multitude of reasons.  Honestly, I am not looking forward to the spin that will come in the moments following.  Some of the situations our players were put in, were unfathomable. If every player has a bad game, this was a bad one for Coach at many basic levels throughout the 2nd half.  I love this team, and I will continue to hope for Coach Crean.  But, some things will need to change after this year in how he manages this team for his long term success.  If he continues to manage this team in this manner, I can't possibly see how it can be successful long term.  I like the guy.  I like the kids he recruits.  I like how most of them improve.  In game?  He just does things I don't think I have ever seen, and I watch a lot of basketball from around the country.  More times than not, I can understand even if I don't agree.  Tonight, I couldn't understand.  If anyone can, I hope they come to defense beyond the normal rhetoric.  No coach is above criticism, and tonight, I think he deserves it.  It shouldn't be personal, but people should question the decisions that put us in this position.  Good night, and cheers.  

[JSHoosier 19,734]

The coaching decisions in the second half were hitting Mike Davis levels of 'WTF are you doing?'.

 

You do not stick with our awful zone while Nebraska takes the lead and all momentum.

You do not put in a lineup of Evan/Devin/Hanner with the game on the line, let alone stick with it.

You do not pull the best rebounder from the game with a 50% shooter at the line.

 

Tim Miles was tweeting at halftime, and still did a better job.  Let that sink in, he was tweeting at halftime and STILL did a better job.

 

A Nebraska board should post an MVP poll, Tom Crean would be the runaway winner.

[JonO 4]

The team has virtually no offense except for Noah and Yogi and most of those points are one-on-dribbling plays that often get deflected of off someone's foot. We were lucky to get the lead we had in the first half:  two straight away bank shots were laughable.  

 

The team relied heavily on Cody Zeller's inside play last year but the mainstay on offense this year is "a turnover" when Yogi pushes the ball up the court even when there isn't anything there. 

 

You take Noah out of this offense and this team would struggle to score 30 points a game.

 

Remember, this AD is the same one who hired Kelvin Sampson. 

[Monkeyboy 2]

How can we have to big athletic studs sitting on the bench with Troy and Noah when nebraska made the run.  and if they were out on the court they were just standing in the corners.  i don't understand Creens offense against the zone.  he has nothing and has not modified it all since our tourney lost against syracuse last year.  if you have the athletes in Troy, Noah, Stan throw the ball up with back screens and let them throw it down or give them a chance to make a play.  

  Creen needs to let some of his kids actually play together to let them gel instead of looking at his paper for the rotation chart.  he needs to win games instead of playing walk ons who should only be on the court when we have a large lead.  i love the heart of the walk ons but they just don't have the talent to compete with these athletic players.  

  Gordon is playing awful.  he has no confidence so lets sit him like they did with Hollowell. lets keep this to a 7 man team and put sheehey back to the bench.  he is not a starter. Starters should be yogi, Stan, Troy, Noah and etherington.  bring sheehey, hollowell and perea off the bench.  those are the kids that can keep you in a game and win.  knowbody else.  i hope the team will show alot better this sunday.  

[FortWayneHoosier 5,879]

The coaching decisions in the second half were hitting Mike Davis levels of 'WTF are you doing?'.

 

You do not stick with our awful zone while Nebraska takes the lead and all momentum.

You do not put in a lineup of Evan/Devin/Hanner with the game on the line, let alone stick with it.

You do not pull the best rebounder from the game with a 50% shooter at the line.

 

Tim Miles was tweeting at halftime, and still did a better job.  Let that sink in, he was tweeting at halftime and STILL did a better job.

 

A Nebraska board should post an MVP poll, Tom Crean would be the runaway winner.

i read that tweet and i was like wow hes tweeting during the half, we got this in the bag. I even fell asleep during the second half, i NEVER miss a game...... this team is tough to watch i tell ya

[FortWayneHoosier 5,879]

i feel like they just puts these walk ons in just to have someone there they never produce anything they just pass the ball around the perimeter its awful....we all could do the same of what they are doing. This offense is horrendous 

[Ol' BC 2]

Lots to whine about after a loss like this.  But the lack of fundamentals has been consistent since Coach Crean came to I.U.  This team is leading the B1G in turnovers.  Indiana's bigs continue to play small and the bad passes are too numerous to count.  Coach Crean's teams play hard but that doesn't make up for the number of unforced errors.  You play like you practice.  What do all those coaches do all week? 

[BlueDevil 8,655]

[quote name="Ol' BC" post="33909" timestamp="1391181831"]Lots to whine about after a loss like this. But the lack of fundamentals has been consistent since Coach Crean came to I.U. This team is leading the B1G in turnovers. Indiana's bigs continue to play small and the bad passes are too numerous to count. Coach Crean's teams play hard but that doesn't make up for the number of unforced errors. You play like you practice. What do all those coaches do all week? [/quote]

I think coach spends a lot of time power walking and styling his hair during the week.

[JSHoosier 19,734]

The team has virtually no offense except for Noah and Yogi and most of those points are one-on-dribbling plays that often get deflected of off someone's foot. We were lucky to get the lead we had in the first half:  two straight away bank shots were laughable.  

 

The team relied heavily on Cody Zeller's inside play last year but the mainstay on offense this year is "a turnover" when Yogi pushes the ball up the court even when there isn't anything there. 

 

You take Noah out of this offense and this team would struggle to score 30 points a game.

 

Remember, this AD is the same one who hired Kelvin Sampson. 

It's kind of hard to rely on inside play when the offense ignores a talented big.  We did not get the ball to Cody like we should have, and it's happening again with Noah.  I've said it before, and I'll say it again, if I was a talented big I would not play for Crean.

 

How can we have to big athletic studs sitting on the bench with Troy and Noah when nebraska made the run.  and if they were out on the court they were just standing in the corners.  i don't understand Creens offense against the zone.  he has nothing and has not modified it all since our tourney lost against syracuse last year.  if you have the athletes in Troy, Noah, Stan throw the ball up with back screens and let them throw it down or give them a chance to make a play.  

  Creen needs to let some of his kids actually play together to let them gel instead of looking at his paper for the rotation chart.  he needs to win games instead of playing walk ons who should only be on the court when we have a large lead.  i love the heart of the walk ons but they just don't have the talent to compete with these athletic players.  

  Gordon is playing awful.  he has no confidence so lets sit him like they did with Hollowell. lets keep this to a 7 man team and put sheehey back to the bench.  he is not a starter. Starters should be yogi, Stan, Troy, Noah and etherington.  bring sheehey, hollowell and perea off the bench.  those are the kids that can keep you in a game and win.  knowbody else.  i hope the team will show alot better this sunday.  

Because "athlete" doesn't mean "basketball player".  Troy is an athlete and not a basketball player, he'll make occasional plays with his athleticism but that's about it and he's been Jeremy Hollowell levels of awful most of the year.  This team needs players that just know how to play the game, and that is not Troy by any means.  He shouldn't be starting because he's been a detriment almost all year, he should be coming off the bench for a few minutes a game to try and make a play with his athleticism.  I was telling people before season started not to expect much from Troy, and was told I was wrong.  Well, I was right.  I was saying not to expect much because I saw him play and I saw that's he just an athlete right now.  Stan is playing better than I expected, mostly, and I was wrong about him.

 

As for Gordon, this is what he is.  He's not much of a shooter, never has been.  He's bringing as much as he's capable of, but he's asked to do more and that's on Crean.

[mtocco 33]

On offense, IU runs the same plays every time. They run a set play that brings the shot-clock down to around 15 seconds then they do one-on-one until someone throws up a shot. It gets annoying to watch this every single game.


Sent from my iPad using BtownBanners

[JSHoosier 19,734]

On offense, IU runs the same plays every time. They run a set play that brings the shot-clock down to around 15 seconds then they do one-on-one until someone throws up a shot. It gets annoying to watch this every single game.


Sent from my iPad using BtownBanners

This was posted on another board, and seems pretty accurate.  I think the poster may have seen Crean's playbook it's so accurate.

 

Yogi rushes the ball up court.  Will's standing in the corner on the baseline.  Gordon and Robinson are on the wings.  Vonleh's down low.  No one's moving so Yogi stands at the top of the key, dribbling, dribbling, dribbling.   

Yogi fakes a drive, but the defender doesn't bite so he dribbles some more.  He dribbles right and passes to Gordon on the right wing.  Gordon catches the ball and holds it over his head, scanning the court, but only God knows why because no one's doing a damn thing to get open except Vonleh who's battling in the post.  

But Gordon doesn't pass to Vonleh.  Why?  Because Vonleh's apparently allowed to take only five shots a game and since it's still the first half and he's already put up two, the team doesn't want to use them up.  Seeing nothing else, Gordon dribbles three feet to his right and then six feet to his left.  He passes it back to Yogi.  Shot Clock's at 25 now.

Yogi catches the ball at the top of the key...and does nothing.  He's holding the ball against his leg and looking, waiting for who knows what because everyone in Assembly Hall and at home watching on TV knows no one is going to do anything to get open.  Why?  No sense in wasting energy because Yogi still has his dribble and, chances are, he's going to shoot it.  Seven more seconds run off the Shot Clock while Yogi holds the ball.

Then Yogi goes ahead and does what Yogi always does--he dribbles, dribbles, dribbles.  He dribbles all the way back towards Gordon, who looks confused, but he goes ahead and switches places with Stan who moves to the top of the key.  Yogi dribbles back left now.  He tries to drive, but nothing's there so he dribbles further to his left and tosses the ball to Robinson.  Shot Clock's at 12.

Now, assuming the Hoosiers haven't turned the ball over at this point (yes, I know, mighty big assumption), Robinson catches the ball.  What's he do?  He dribbles, of course.  Not aggressively, mind you, but more just for something to do.  Now he's looking left. Then he's looking right.  Look out, he's looking low.  Ah, but nobody's open because (Surprise!) no one's setting screens, cutting, or curling.  Robinson starts a drive, but he gets cut off so he backs the ball out.  Stan looks up and sees the Shot Clock's at 6.  Yikes!  I got to get rid of this thing!  He passes to Yogi.

Yogi's got the ball again and, yes, he starts dribbling, but with a sense of urgency now.  Suddenly people are starting to move.  Vonleh comes up to set a high ball screen.  Yogi uses it, but Vonleh's man shuts him down.  Shot Clock's at 4.  Yogi reverses his dribble and (1) drives the hoop, throwing up a circus shot on the way that wouldn't go in if it was blessed by the Pope; (2) jacks up an off balance three that's as ugly leaving his hand as it is clanging off the rim; or (3) AANNNGH!  Shot Clock Violation!

 

That is pretty much our half court offense every year, just substitute Yogi with Verdell.  This obviously ignores the 4-5 possessions a game Yogi wastes by launching pull up 3s with 25 seconds on the shot clock, with a hand in his face.